In their open letter, church leaders from around the UK also called for a windfall tax on fossil fuel companies to tackle the cost of living crisis and for energy efficiency measures to reduce heating bills in the government’s spring statement, but this call was ignored.

While church leaders, including former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, welcomed the UK Government’s decision to ban Russian oil and gas imports, which are fuelling the catastrophic war in Ukraine, they called for a “rapid shift from fossil fuels to clean energy” in the spring statement and the energy security strategy due to be published this month.

But while VAT on solar panels and heat pumps was reduced, other environmentally regressive policies including reducing the cost of petrol were included in the statement released on Wednesday.

“The UK has a duty to demonstrate global leadership on the climate crisis”

“The UK has a duty to demonstrate global leadership on the climate crisis, as hosts of the recent COP 26 climate summit and as we continue to hold the COP Presidency,” the authors wrote. “The International Energy Agency has stated that there can be no new fossil fuel developments if we are to limit global heating to 1.5°C. New oil and gas production will not deliver lower energy bills for families facing fuel poverty and will have no impact on energy supply for years.”

At the Conservative Party spring conference in Blackpool on Saturday, Boris Johnson told delegates his government would “make better use of our own naturally occurring hydrocarbons”.

Paul Parker said: “We believe that the government should not be considering new oil and gas works at a time when the world is facing a climate emergency. Fossil fuel companies should not be taking huge profits while people struggle to afford to heat their homes. This does not reflect the just and fair society our faith leads us to work towards.

“Quakers believe the earth’s resources must be conserved and shared more equitably and, as we are an integral part of creation, this is our responsibility,” he said.

Read open letter on energy security